Swiss National Bank Sells 17,700 Shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Swiss National Bank cut its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 5.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 303,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 17,700 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $23,771,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hemington Wealth Management lifted its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 71.8% in the 4th quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 335 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in Jefferies Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Stephens Consulting LLC bought a new position in Jefferies Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 158.3% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 514 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 315 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group in the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. 60.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on JEF shares. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $75.00 price objective on Jefferies Financial Group in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Oppenheimer cut their target price on Jefferies Financial Group from $82.00 to $81.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $92.00 to $81.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 13th.

Jefferies Financial Group Trading Up 2.3 %

NYSE:JEF opened at $57.60 on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a one year low of $40.72 and a one year high of $82.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.07. The firm has a market cap of $11.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.33 and a beta of 1.37. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $69.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $69.50.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 8th. The financial services provider reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.97 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $1.96 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.83 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 7.92% and a net margin of 10.57%. The company’s revenue was up 63.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.30 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This is an increase from Jefferies Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. Jefferies Financial Group’s payout ratio is currently 53.69%.

About Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group Inc operates as an investment banking and capital markets firm in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, and the Asia-Pacific. The company operates in two segments, Investment Banking and Capital Markets, and Asset Management. It provides investment banking, advisory services with respect to mergers or acquisitions, debt financing, restructurings or recapitalizations, and private capital advisory transactions; underwriting and placement services related to corporate debt, municipal bonds, mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities, equity and equity-linked securities, and loan syndication services; and corporate lending services.